Amazon has revealed 20 cities that could be the next home of its second North American headquarters, dubbed HQ2.

The candidates, selected from 238 applicants, will move to the next round of Amazon's selection process, the company said Thursday. Amazon will make a final decision on the site of its new headquarters this year.

Amazon said it would work with each city to "dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company's hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community."

Amazon has promised a $5 billion investment and up to 50,000 high-paying jobs to the city where it builds the headquarters.

"Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough — all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity," said Holly Sullivan, the head of public policy for Amazon. "Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation."